


Puddles

by RiYuYami



Category: Bendy and the Ink Machine
Genre: Gen, The screaming well of voices, chapter five spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-29
Updated: 2018-10-29
Packaged: 2019-08-09 10:32:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,091
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16448243
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RiYuYami/pseuds/RiYuYami
Summary: Another death means another trip to the Dark Puddles. Only this time, Henry takes notice to the voices, to the fact that… well… they seem to sound too familiar for his liking…





	Puddles

**Author's Note:**

> If this constant loop theory for Chapter Five is correct, then there is a lot of stuff with the Puddles that might freak Henry out. Such as the fact that the voices there are actually his own.
> 
> And so I decided to make that into a one-shot!
> 
> Warning: character death, spoilers for Chapter Five and the hidden messages in the game in general, me tearing my heart out by hurting Henry
> 
> On with the fic!

Henry turned a sharp corner out of the hall, spying the Little Miracle Station just up ahead near the room with the pipes. He was close, so close! If he could just get to it before the Ink Demon did, then he’d be okay! Just as he reached for the door, his fingertips just barely touching the old wood, he felt the cold touch of Bendy against his back.

There was a sickening crack and a sharp, burning pain before nothing.

He snapped open his eyes and found the familiar sight of the Puddles, the screaming well of voices, as Alice put it. He sighed, great, he’d died… again! How many times has this been? Six? He was so bad at this, he was so tired of the swarms of Searchers, of the sudden appearance of a Butcher Gang member, and of Bendy finding him.

“I hate this place…” He whispered to himself, shaking his head as he started to walk to the light, back to the studio at the base of a Bendy statue.

_We all do._

Henry stopped in his tracks. Wait, did… did someone just speak to him? Sure, he’s heard voices speaking over and over in here, but none had ever spoken before to him. “Hello..? Is there someone else here?”

_Yes._

“Who?”

_Isn’t it obvious?_

_Listen, and you’ll know._

He wasn’t sure what that meant, but he decided to do what the voice said. Closing his eyes, Henry tried to listen to the voices. There were so many, speaking over and over. Strangely, it sounded like a lot of things being repeated. He concentrated, trying to figure out what was being said.

It took a few moments, but he started to pick up on things, and he didn’t like what he was hearing.

_… old desk, man I wasted so m-_

_Oh, my head… what happened?_

_-oris! No, no, what has she d-_

_The Ink Demon has somethin’ we need…_

_Alright, Joey, I’m here. Let’s see-_

“Why am I hearin’ my own voice?” Henry asked, opening his eyes. “Why am I only hearing my voice?! What sort of sick joke is this! Bendy, is this your doin’!?”

_No, this would be your ol’ pal’s fault._

_We’re your voice, lost to the ink. Forever stuck in the endless loops of constantly fixing Joey’s story, his endin’ for his mistakes._

_Never satisfied, never likin’ what we’re doin’ to fix things._

_So, we start over again, back to the first floor, back to the old desk. Back to the old grind, as we’ve said a thousand times before…_

Henry didn’t like any of this, he didn’t like hearing his own voice telling him these things. He especially didn’t like that he trusted their words, that this feeling in his chest made him know that these are the words of truth.

He hated to admit to it, but he’s felt a terrible feeling of déjà vu since coming back, and it’s not just from being back to his old work place. No, even in places he’s never been to he’s felt like he’s walked those halls dozens of times.

“Why are you tellin’ me this? Am I gonna end up like you guys? Am I just gonna end up another voice in this dark hell?” He asked, looking all around. He paused, grabbing at the viewing tool he had been given by the good Alice. He activated it and gasped, seeing thousands of words and drawings, spinning all around him.

He knew… he knew these words and drawings, he had done them himself. So many words, hidden all over the studio in plain sight, but only through the special tool could one see them. “I wrote… We wrote these.” He stammered.

_We wanted to remind ourselves of the truth, but not all of us could ever find the device._

_Those who had it almost broke the cycle, but…_

_But we always ended up back there, back to his lair, never finding another way to end this because Joey didn’t want our ideas. He never liked when we took the spotlight, even though he’s writing the story here._

“He wants us to fix his mistakes, but he can’t have us take the credit. Typical.” Henry sighed. He looked at the words and drawings again before dropping the tool to his side, staring at the moving ground below him.

So, this is it, this is where he’ll go forever once he finds the end of Joey’s story, being another imperfection he tries to fix. He would do this for the show, if a scene didn’t work well, he’d make the whole team or Henry himself completely redo it. Leave Henry to do all the work while Joey gets all the credit, never feeling any guilt for what happened.

“Some best friend he turned out to be…” He mumbled. “What do I do now? If this is just gonna be where I end up when this is all over, then what’s the point?”

He knew how this would play out, he just knew it in his soul. He’d find Bendy and confront him, take the reel that Bendy was hold onto, play it, and ‘kill’ the beast. But Joey was never satisfied, he can’t escape the horrible guilt and depression the studio left him with. Henry can never fix this problem, it’s impossible.

_Move forward._

“What?” He blinked, looking around.

_Keep movin’ forward, don’t let this stop you. It’s never stopped any of us before. We write out our messages, leave our drawings, but we always keep movin’ towards the true ending. It could take one more loop, could take a thousand more. But one Henry will solve all of this and we will be free._

_She wrote ‘hope’ on that wall for a reason, Henry, have some yourself. You’re alive, you still have a chance. Find a new path from Joey’s story, he’s the director, but you’re the animator. You can change things to fix your work to make the story go in a better direction._

_You’re the hero, right? This is like a cartoon, the hero always wins in the end, even after dealin' with hardships._

_So keep movin’ forward!_

Henry looked around once more before nodding, a small hint of a smile coming to him. “Alright, I’ll do that. I’ll try to break the cycle, and if I can’t? I’ll leave my own message for the future Henry that stops this to see.”

And with that, he took a step forwards, towards the light at the end of the Puddles.

END

**Author's Note:**

> Short, corny, but I felt like writing something that could give Henry a little confidence boost. 
> 
> Thanks for reading!


End file.
